Course difference estimation decoupling

Abstract

A method and system for processing information (e.g., encoding video data) may include identifying a plurality of sets of data blocks. Such data blocks may, for example, be stored in a memory. One or more candidate data blocks may be selected from one or more of the sets of data blocks. Such a selection may be based on a first selection criterion. A candidate block selection module may, for example, perform the selection. One or more reference data blocks may be selected from the candidate data blocks. Such a selection may be based on a second selection criterion. A reference block selection module may, for example, perform the selection. The reference data block(s) may be utilized to process information. In an exemplary scenario, a reference block may be utilized to encode a current video data block, which may then be communicated to a receiving entity.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for encoding video information, the method comprising:
 defining a plurality of regions within a search area, where each region comprises a plurality of video data blocks; 
 determining a respective match quality for at least one of the plurality of video data blocks from at least one of the plurality of regions; 
 selecting, based at least in part on respective match quality, a set of regional video data blocks comprising at least one of the plurality of video data blocks in at least one of the plurality of regions; 
 determining a respective match cost for at least one of the set of regional video data blocks; 
 selecting a reference video data block from the set of regional video data blocks, based at least in part on the determined match costs; 
 utilizing the reference video data block to encode video information; and 
 wherein determining a respective match cost for a regional video data block comprises determining an indication of the number of bits required to communicate a data vector comprising motion information corresponding to the regional video data block based on motion side information for a previous video data block. 
 
     
     
       2. A method for encoding video information in a current video data block, the method comprising:
 defining a plurality of regions within a search area, where each region comprises a plurality of video data blocks; 
 determining a respective match quality for at least one of the plurality of video data blocks from at least one of the plurality of regions; 
 selecting, based at least in part on respective match quality, a set of regional video data blocks comprising at least one of the plurality of video data blocks in at least one of the plurality of regions; 
 determining a respective match cost for at least one of the set of regional video data blocks; 
 selecting a reference video data block from the set of regional video data blocks, based at least in part on the determined match costs; 
 utilizing the reference video data block to encode video information; and 
 wherein selecting a reference video data block from the set of regional video data blocks comprises: 
 determining a respective rating for each regional video data block, wherein the respective rating comprises: 
 information of difference between the current video data block and the regional video data block; and 
 information of an amount of data required to encode the current video data block using the regional video data block; and 
 selecting the reference video data block by comparing the respective ratings for the regional video data blocks. 
 
     
     
       3. A method for encoding video information in a current video data block, the method comprising:
 defining a plurality of regions within a search area, where each region comprises a plurality of video data blocks; 
 determining a respective match quality for at least one of the plurality of video data blocks from at least one of the plurality of regions; 
 selecting, based at least in part on respective match quality, a set of regional video data blocks comprising at least one of the plurality of video data blocks in at least one of the plurality of regions; 
 determining a respective match cost for at least one of the set of regional video data blocks; 
 selecting a reference video data block from the set of regional video data blocks, based at least in part on the determined match costs; 
 utilizing the reference video data block to encode video information; 
 wherein determining a respective match quality for at least one of the plurality of video data blocks each of the plurality of regions comprises determining at least a portion of the respective match qualities prior to completing the encoding of all reference video data blocks utilized to encode the current video data block; and 
 wherein determining a respective match cost for at least one of the set of regional video data blocks comprises determining at least a portion of the respective match cost(s) after completing the encoding of all reference video data blocks utilized to encode the current video data block. 
 
     
     
       4. A video encoding system comprising:
 memory comprising a current video data block to be encoded; 
 memory comprising a plurality of video data block regions, each video data block region comprising a plurality of video data blocks; 
 at least one module that determines match quality for at least one video data block in at least one of the video data block regions; 
 the at least one module selects a set of regional video data blocks from the video data blocks in the plurality of video data block regions based at least in part on the determined match quality; 
 the at least one module determines match cost for at least one of the set of regional video data blocks; 
 the at least one module selects a reference video data block from the set of regional video data blocks based at least in part on the determined match cost; 
 a video encoder module that encodes the current video data block based at least in part on the selected reference video data block; and 
 wherein the match cost for a regional video data block comprises information of a number of bits required to communicate a data vector comprising motion information corresponding to the regional video data block based on motion side information for a previous video data block. 
 
     
     
       5. A video encoding system comprising:
 memory comprising a current video data block to be encoded; 
 memory comprising a plurality of video data block regions, each video data block region comprising a plurality of video data blocks; 
 at least one module that determines match quality for at least one video data block in at least one of the video data block regions; 
 the at least one module selects a set of regional video data blocks from the video data blocks in the plurality of video data block regions based at least in part on the determined match quality; 
 the at least one module determines match cost for at least one of the set of regional video data blocks; 
 the at least one module selects a reference video data block from the set of regional video data blocks based at least in part on the determined match cost; 
 a video encoder module that encodes the current video data block based at least in part on the selected reference video data block; and 
 a communication module that communicates information of the encoded current video data block to a remote receiver.